Pilots
by BlueBird130
Summary: When all the Lions are out of commission and Keith is injured in his, who will save him?
1. Chapter 1

**I have officially been dragged into Voltron hell. The show that was (probably) meant for** _ **nine year old boys**_ **has become one of my favourite things. I ship Klance, and if you are totally against it please don't leave your salty, flame reviews. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions! There won't be much romance in this, there might be subtle klance hints but I'm no good at writing anything super romantic so there definitely won't be any of that here. I haven't written any vld (Voltron legendary defenders) fan fictions buuuuuuuuuuut ya know there's a first time for everything. And it's totally not like my friend keeps pressuring to write one, pssss naw. THERE WILL BE NO OTHER PAIRINGS BESIDE SLIGHT KLANCE, NO SHIDGE, OR SHIETH OR SHANCE (Laro? Lance x Shiro? I've see it idk) Usually there won't be long author notes like this, but it's the first chapter sooooo yeh. I also don't know how in character they will seem; it's my first time writing this. Hopefully in the future it'll get better. ENJOY!**

"Team, form Voltron!" Shiro's voice said as it projected out of Lance's helmet and into his eardrums.

 _Alright Blue, let's do this!_

His lion gave a purr of agreement and started forming into the right leg of the defender of the universe: Voltron. There was a clunking noise as each of the rest of the lions turned into their respective parts, Hunk as the other leg, Pidge as the left arm, Keith as the other arm and finally Shiro as the head. They all shouted in triumph, a habit formed from the time when forming Voltron was a huge achievement.

Three fleets of Galra ships were steadily approaching and their weaponry was being armed as they got closer. The ships had spotted the castle that was stationed on a host planet a few hours ago, but just now started to attack. From the amount of crafts that were coming, the Paladins knew that Voltron was needed and they knew that it was going to be a long battle.

"Okay team. There are a lot of them out there, but we've seen worse. Right?" The leader said with a tone of forced positivity in his voice.

There were murmurs of agreement from the Paladins, but they were still worried.

"Hey!" Lance said, his voice in its usual energetic tone," Show some more spirit, guys!"

"Shut up Lance."

 _Keith, always the rain cloud, ruining everything._

"Guys," Shiro said with a tone of warning," Stop bickering and get ready. We need to take out the closest ships first, they pose the biggest threat."

Hunk's voice came over the communication line," H-hey, those are some big guns. You sure we can take them?"

"Hunk, stop being a baby. Let's go kick some butt!" Pidge cried, her peppy tone putting a smile on everyone's face.

Allura spoke up, as she patched into their communications," Paladins, be careful. I will be trying to get castle's weapon systems ready to fire if the need arises."

Their conversation was cut short by the sound of guns powering up.

"Let's get 'em!" Lance crowed, as Voltron flew forward with its sword drawn.

They dodged the onslaught of lasers, dipping and diving in space. No one spoke; they were a well oiled team that didn't need speech to communicate. Ship after ship went down as Voltron fought valiantly, every Paladin working to the extent of their abilities.

The silence was broken by Shiro's shout," Watch out!"

While their back was turned the main Galra ship had readied its quintessence draining gun, and fired it at them. The laser stream struck them dead on, and they all cried out in pain as the lions were forcefully separated from their combined form. Their lion's eyes went dark, and became limp.

"Paladins!" Allura shouted," I got the castle's guns ready, but it will use up all the power so I won't be able to communicate with you. Hold on longer!

No one responded, as they all were still recoiling from the pain of being forcefully broken apart. A sudden burst of purple light streamed from a far away ship that their blurry minds vaguely recognized as the ships. Allura's voice went offline with a buzz of static as the weapon fired. The Galra ships fled, leaving five lions floating in the dead of space.

"Team?" Shiro rasped, his voice tired and weary," Come in? Oh God, please respond." His voice broke on the last request, worry creeping in.

Lance groaned and opened his eyes when he heard his leader's concerned voice," H-hey Shiro. I'm feeling just sunny right now, you?" A tone of sarcasm leaked into his voice, as he looked around his cockpit.

 _Blue? Blue, are you there? Please tell me you're awake, that gun almost hit us right on._

No response.

 _Blue! Wake up beautiful, I need you online._

She still was silent.

A quiet voice broke through the silence," Lance? Shiro? Are-are you guys okay?"

"Pidge!" Shiro and Lance said simultaneously, relief coursed through Lance when he heard her voice.

"Jeez, don't yell…" A kind, but tired voice said when the two Paladins shouted.

More relief," Hunk!"

"Okay," Shiro said, his voice still scratchy," Now that everybody is-"

"Keith! We forgot about Keith! He still isn't responding, can anybody see Red?" Lance suddenly said, concerned. His eyes flitted around as he looked out of his immobile lion; he had to squint because the cockpit's lights were off due to Blue being offline.

"I see him, he's over there!" Hunk shouted.

Shiro's voice responded immediately," Hunk, we can't see you pointing. Just start flying over there and I'll follow."

"Okay, okay. Wait… what?" The yellow Paladin's voice went from nervous to confused.

Lance immediately assumed what was happening," Is your lion not responding, either? Guys, what's the status of _your_ lions?"

"She's not responding."

"Green isn't moving or talking."

"I got nothing."

 _Just what I thought._

 _Keith could be DYING! God, Blue needs to wake up. This is bad, this is very bad…_

Lance started to say something but Blue suddenly jolted to life," YES!" He shouted," Blue's alive!"

 _ **I could sense my pilots worry for Red pilot. It drew me from unconsciousness. Apologies for the wait, my pilot. But be warned, I can't stay awake very long right now.**_

 _I'm so glad you're okay, you really had me worried there Blue._

"Lance? You went silent." Shiro said.

"Oh, sorry; I was talking to Blue. Can any of you move now?" He asked, as he started flying toward the unmoving Red Lion.

"No."

"Nope."

"Nada."

Lance sighed, and continued moving, slowly, considering Blue just woke up. On his way there he saw Hunk's Lion lying still with its eyes dimmed. He eventually made his way over to Red.

"Okay guys," The Blue Paladin said shakily," I'm about to head into the Red Lion."

"Bring Keith back for us, Lance." Pidge said with a determined edge in her voice.

"I'll be trying to connect with the castle while you get Keith." Their leader reported.

"Got it."

 _Okay Blue, we're almost there. Hold on a bit longer._

He opened the lion's door and floated into space. There was a slam behind him, and he swiftly turned around to find a shocking sight.

"Blue!"

"Lance, what's the matter?" A chorus of questions rang out in Lance's ears after his shout.

"Crap," He sighed," Blue's out again, now I'm stranded."

There was a groan from all the Paladins at the new information, and Shiro spoke," Okay, we'll worry about that later. Try to get into Keith's Lion, maybe if you can get him awake then he could pilot you guys to the castle."

"'Kay."

It took him a few tries to get through the doors of the Red Lion, but he eventually heaved it open and walked into the Red lion.

"Keith?" Lance questioned, as he looked around. There was nothing in response, no cries for help (not that Keith would cry for help) and no movement.

As the Blue Paladin circled the chair in the cockpit he saw the crumpled form of his friend," Keith!"

He kneeled down next to Keith's unmoving body, gently shook his shoulder," Come on… wake up…"

"Lance, have you found Keith?" Shiro suddenly asked over his helmets speaker.

"Yes. But he's not responding right now," Lance assessed the damage," There's a cut on his head that's bleeding, but that's all I know until he wakes up." His worry began to grow.

There was a small pause before Pidge piped up," You need to wake him up, if it's a head injury we don't want him to _stay_ asleep." Her voice shook slightly as she rattled off information on how to wake up Keith.

"Quiznak, my head hurts…" There was a groan as a small voice whispered.

Lance immediately looked down to see the Red Paladin shifting his body so he was laying flat on his back," Keith! Oh thank goodness. Guys he's awake!"

"Could you stop yelling? I have head headache the size of your ego." A small smile formed on Lance's face, if Keith was back to arguing with him then his injury can't be _that_ bad.

The communication line was suddenly filled with an overwhelming amount of chatter when the team heard Keith's voice. They all spoke over each other, shouting.

"Keith! Thank God."

"If you die I'm gonna bring you back, then kill you again!"

Hunk's voice came across louder than the rest," KEITH! I'VE BEEN SO WORRIED!"

"Calm down, Hunk," Keith cringed at the loud noise," I'm gonna be fine."

Lance hadn't said anything, letting the team talk while he looked over Keith's body. The Red Paladin's eyes were glazed over and he was gripping his shoulder with one hand tightly, and his face was scrunched up in pain.

"Keith? Are you okay, what happened?" questioned Lance, his voice quiet.

"I-"A wave of pain caused Keith to tense up and hold his shoulder tighter. A groan escaped his pressed lips when he tried to talk, and his eyes closed.

"Crap! Keith, what's hurt?" The blue Paladin cautiously put an arm out to his injured friend, only to draw it back when Keith hissed in pain again.

"It's my… shoulder and head…" His voice was forced out, pain obvious in his voice.

"Lance? What's going on?" Shiro's worried voice came out of the helmet when he heard Keith.

"Um," Lance was nervous, he didn't know how to help his friend," I don't know. He said his shoulder and-"

The leader of Voltron cut him off," I can hear him, no need to repeat everything he says. Keith, can you speak to me?"

"H-Hey Shiro. Yeah I can talk…"

When Pidge and Hunk heard Keith's shaky voice both of their voices mingled together," Keith!"

Sweat was beaded on Keith's forehead and his face was pale," 'Sup…"

"Keith, what happened?" Shiro spoke, while Lance was quiet.

"When Red and I got hit, something slammed into us and threw me against the wall," He said, and pointed his head to the dented wall," I heard a loud pop and now my shoulder feels like it's on fire."

Lance's eyes were skimming over Lance's armor, noticing how the shoulder area was cracked and broken with a heavy sigh. He felt so useless as he nervously sat next to the injured Paladin and listened to Shiro calmly talk.

"Okay, Lance?" Shiro's voice snapped him out of his daze," Lance, I need you to focus, I know you're scared but you need to focus for Keith's sake."

He shook his head, clearing away the haze," S-sorry. What do you need me to do?"

The Red Lion shook slightly, and Keith groaned slightly," Whatever you're going to do, do it faster."

"Lance, you need to stabilize Keith's arm, then somehow you need to…" Getting quieter and quieter, Shiro trailed off.

Pidge butted in, and finished what the Black Paladin intended to say," You need to pilot the Red Lion."

Stunned silence filled the air, until Hunk broke it," That's impossible! You can't pilot someone else's Lion, right?"

"Lance, you know Keith better than the rest of us. His Lion should be able to recognize that." Shiro said.

"What?!" Lance exclaimed," No I don't! He's my rival."

Shiro's patience finally snapped," Lance, stop pouting! We need to get Keith to a healing pod before the Galra ships come back. So, focus on keeping him awake and pilot his Lion!" There was a click as the older man signed off of the communication line.

Lance tilted his head backwards, sighing out a puff of air in exasperation. Keith's lips were pressed tightly together and his eyes were closed as his face twisted in pain.

 _Okay, okay… I can do this… just find a way to make sure his arm doesn't move much then… pilot Red?_

"Keith, I'm going to strap your arm to your side so it doesn't jostle very much. Tell me if it hurts too much, I'm sorry if I do hurt you." He said, while slowly inching toward Keith. His hand wrapped around his belt and he pulled it out for Keith's arm.

"Just," sighed the injured Paladin," Just hurry it up."

Gritting his teeth, Lance started tying the belt around Keith's arm and wrapping it around his body. When the belt tightened, Keith's fist slammed down on the hard metal bottom of his Lion, pain evident on his face.

"There." Keith relaxed when Lance let go of the belt and the pressure released a bit.

 _Now for the difficult part._ He thought as he reached toward the Red Lion's controls.

 **So I realized that recently I had just been pumping out chapters and not really taking time to put a lot of effort into them. But I realized that halfway through the making of this chapter. So don't expect chapters as often as say, one every two days. Hopefully, that means the content will get better. There will be a chapter two, so stay tuned! (EW, that's cringy) BUH-BYE!**


	2. Chapter 2

Lance realized, as he placed his shaking hands on the controls of the Red Lion, that he had no clue _how_ he was going to do this. The Lions only respond to their pilots, how was he going to do anything? A small drop of sweat ran down the side of his face as his anxiously reached his mind out to Red. There was no response. The confused and worried Blue Paladin raised a hand to his helmet and tuned into the communication line of his leader.

"Shiro? Are you there?" Lance asked, while trying to keep the stress out of his voice. He spoke with a whispered undertone so that Keith couldn't hear him, but he doubted that Keith was focusing on what he was saying anyways.

There was a moment of static before the Black Paladin responded," Lance, I'm here. What's the matter?" Shiro's voice was rough and tired, Keith wasn't the only one who had his lion hit directly by the beam, and it certainly was taking its toll on the older man.

Lance sighed in relief when he heard Shiro, and his body slightly relaxed as he leaned against the control panel of the Red Lion," I-I don't know what to do. Shiro… what if I can't do anything? I'm-I'm scared." His voice broke as he spoke the last phrase, and he felt tears prickling at his eyes. Self-doubt was radiating through his aching body and he felt incredibly useless standing still while his friend was hurt. A tiny voice in the back of his head kept telling him that he was useless, the seventh wheel, that he was no help to the team. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Keith's tied down body, he could see that his friend's face a mask of barely concealed pain, and it further fueled the idea that he couldn't do anything helpful.

"Lance. Whatever you are telling yourself, it's not true. You are the only one who can help Keith right now, and we need you to focus. You are important and you are needed. More than that, you are loved. Now, get your head into the game and think only about connecting with the Red Lion. I believe in you, and so does everyone else." The sound of Shiro's strong voice brought him back from the crippling pit of worry. After he heard Shiro speak, Lance was left speechless, but the fire in his spirit was returning. He smiled softly and turned his head to look at Keith with a determined gleam in his eyes.

The fallen Red Paladin's eyes widened and became more alert when he saw Lance looking at him, but there was still a layer of cloudy pain covering them," What made you so happy? You know what, don't answer that. Just… get us out of here, please."

"You got it." With a swift spin, Lance turned back to face the lion's controls with the intention to successfully pilot it fresh in his mind. He wasn't surprised that Keith didn't try to argue, Lance was sure that the pain of his wounds was sapping his energy. With a sigh, Lance reached out with his mind to wherever the Red Lion was.

 _Okay, um, Red Lion? It's Lance, the Blue Paladin. I really need your help right now and so does Keith._

Silence.

… _Red Lion? Red? Come on, wake up. Keith's hurt and needs you to wake up so I can pilot you._

More silence.

"Keith," Lance twisted his head around to look at his friend for help, he regretted asking anything of hurt friend, but he was grasping for options," Can you try and say something to Red and see if you can wake her up. She's not-"He stopped short as he saw Keith's body limp against the floor with his eyes closed.

Adrenaline mixed with fear coursed into Lance's body and he rushed to Keith's side with his heart racing," Keith! No, no, no, don't sleep. Please, I can't do this alone…" His voice was laced with desperation as he put a hand on Keith's neck, checking for a pulse. He found it. The steady beating was weak, but it gave Lance reassurance that Keith was alive.

Lance remembered what Pidge had said about head injuries and how Keith should stay awake, so he lowered his hand and shook Keith's body in an attempt to wake him up. There was no response, not even the slightest movement to show that the fallen boy registered that he was being disturbed. A sob threatened to escape from his chest and he gritted his teeth tightly together to keep it down.

 _ **Blue Paladin.**_

"Red!" The startled young man shouted out loud when he heard the deep, growling voice in his head. He wasn't used to hearing any other voice besides Blue's lighter tone, so this was new. Relief swept through his body like a storm and he drew his hand back from Keith's still body as he heard the Red Lion speak again.

 _ **What state is my pilot in? I do not feel his presence.**_

A small smile formed crept onto Lance's face when he heard the Red Lion's concern for Keith. Before becoming a Paladin of Voltron, Lance never would have believed that a giant metal cat could ever experience any kind of emotion. But now, he knows that they can, and he knows that the Lions are capable of so much more.

"Keith, he is-"Lance remembered that he could communicate with his mind and stopped speaking out loud, feeling foolish. He continued speaking to Red, but this time by projecting his voice from his head.

 _He's unconscious right now, that's probably why you can't sense him. You remember being attacked, right? Well, the beam forced us all to separate, and all of our Lions to shut down. You included. I managed to wake Blue up (somehow) and got over to you and Keith._

Lance stood up and walked back over to the controls, his legs shaking uncontrollably as he did so. The adrenaline was wearing off and it was replaced by his fear and the sluggish feeling of being tired. He waited for the Red Lion's response patiently, and gazed out of the window into the starry abyss of space.

 _ **I remember being forced apart, but from then on: nothing. Now that I'm revived, wake up my paladin so that we may fly back to the castle.**_

The Blue Paladin hesitated before cautiously responding.

 _I can't wake him up… he's hurt and probably has some kind of head trauma._

There was a tense moment of silence and then an enraged growl filled the shaking pilot's cabin. Lance gripped the panel of controls tightly and stumbled backwards into the piloting seat. As soon as he made contact with the chair he felt a connection in his mind and he reached for the joy stick that controlled the Lion.

His body was moving on its own accord and he immediately felt the same feelings of determination and rage as the Red Lion. He felt the same surge of protectiveness toward Keith as the Lion did. Lance's mind and body was suddenly hyper aware of every shake and every detail in the cabin, and he was filled with energy. Gone was the feeling of tired and hopelessness, he was _piloting the Red Lion._

A humming noise filled his ears as the lights around him turned on, and Lance wrapped his long fingers around the controls of the Lion. His communication line clicked on and he heard the voices of his teammates chattering in his helmet. Before he started flying, he opened his mouth to speak with his friends.

"Guys." Lance murmured with a tone of awe in his voice. He gazed out of the window and could make out the still forms of the other lions in the distance. Blue was the closest, but she was still limp in the grasps of space as she floated near Red, and he could tell from the dark eyes that all the lions were still inactive.

Immediately after hearing Lance's voice, Shiro responded with a tone of worry and confusion," Lance! What's happening? The Red Lion looks alive now, are you doing that?"

Lance waited for Hunk and Pidge's shouts to quiet down before speaking again," I-I'm piloting Red, I did it!" He cheered happily as he waved frantically to the other Lions. He knew that it was impossible for them to see his small body in comparison to the Red Lion's, but he still did so. His cheeks were already sore from the huge smile that was splitting his face, but it didn't matter. All he was focusing on was the knowledge that he had actually _done it_.

"What?! That's awesome!" Pidge crowed as soon as Lance stopped speaking and the curiosity in her voice was obvious. Lance had no doubt that she was going to want to find out how he was able to pilot a Lion that wasn't his.

Hunk's voice, glowing with happiness broke into the conversation with a hearty shout," You did it, bro!" Lance could hear that both Hunk and Pidge were smiling, it was infectious.

"Thanks, guys. But, I still need to find the castle of Lions and get Keith into a healing pod. Then we need to find out how to wake up your Lions. Shiro, do you have any ideas on how we can do that?"

A growl interrupted Lance's conversation, and he felt the Red Lion pressing at his mind.

 _What's the matter?_

 _ **Stop conversing with the other Paladins, get my pilot home.**_

The voice was fierce and stern, and Lance remembered that Allura described the Red Lion as a hot head (not unlike its pilot). His hands tightened on the controls as he listened to Shiro's calm response.

"Okay, Lance. The first priority is getting Keith to safety; we don't want permanent damage done to his body. We'll worry about getting our Lions active after he's safe and healing." The older man's voice was weary, but he spoke with steely determination.

"Got it." There was no more time to be spent on extra words now, all other distractions were gone. It was just him and Red.

A sickly cough suddenly reminded Lance that it wasn't just him and Red. There was also Keith. An injured Keith.

Lance clicked off of his communication line and turned his head around to see an unfortunate sight. Keith's face was a scary shade of white, and his eyes were clenched shut. Lance swallowed anxiously, but turned back to the controls of the Red Lion. He silently messaged to Red, signaling that it was go time. He pushed the control lever in his right hand forward, to start up Red, letting the Lion take over. Red growled and spoke in her normal way of speaking, telling Lance how to direct her and which buttons to press. He easily caught the hang of it when he realized that piloting Red wasn't much different than piloting his Lion.

With his eyes glued forward, Lance moved the Red Lion further into space. He looked down at a glowing screen that had the Castle's position on it and selected the icon, he knew where to go.

It was only a matter of time until Keith was home and safe.

 **So, what did you guys think? Sorry if they seem kinda OOC, I'm still new at writing for these** _ **awesome**_ **characters. Also, did you guys see that Josh Keaton (the voice actor for Shiro) dyed his hair grey to look more like Shiro? I think that's awesome! Anyways, if you're having a spring break like I am, I hope you're enjoying the time off like me! I hope you enjoyed this new chapter, if you did, feel free to leave a review or maybe even drop a favourite or something! (P.S I have a poll up on my account page for all the people that follow my story "Carnival" check it out) Bye! :)**


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